Developing Early Childhood Critical Thinking Skills through the Use of the Rocket Pintar Educational Play Tool as an Interactive and Exploratory Learning Medium

Abstract

The development of critical thinking skills in early childhood is an essential aspect of preparing future generations to face the challenges of the 21st century. However, learning activities in early childhood education institutions often remain focused on routine activities and provide limited opportunities for children to explore, analyze, and solve problems independently. This community service and empowerment program aimed to enhance early childhood critical thinking skills through the use of an Educational Play Tool (EPT) called Rocket Pintar at RA Al Amin 3 Cemani. The program was implemented through several stages, including planning, socialization, training on media utilization, learning assistance, and evaluation. The “Rocket Pintar” EPT was designed as an interactive learning medium that encourages children to observe, identify, classify, and solve simple problems through enjoyable play-based activities. The results indicated that the use of “Rocket Pintar” increased children's active participation in learning, fostered curiosity, and improved critical thinking skills as reflected in their ability to ask questions, provide reasons, and make simple decisions. Furthermore, teachers gained experience in utilizing innovative learning media that can be sustainably implemented in classroom activities. Therefore, Rocket Pintar can serve as an effective educational medium to support the development of critical thinking skills in early childhood education.